From there, it was surprisingly simple. Almost laughable. Ice’s plan to essentially remove her--it, whatever it was--from the battlefield didn’t take much effort. The bug pony wasn’t able to walk properly upon the frozen lake that the cold stallion had created, which allowed him to gain the upper hoof quite easily.
With a hefty grunt, he bit upon the changeling’s tail with his teeth. With a single spin, he flung it so hard that it flew out of, and broke the illusion that kept anypony from seeing what was going on out here.
Then, he charged. “Let’s go, let’s go,” he commanded as he galloped after the insect-like beast he had tossed away from the Schoolhouse.
The ice around my hooves disappeared, and I was able to walk again. It took me a moment to realize where the stallion had ran off to, but once I figured it out, it was simple logic. A nearby hill whose elevation could provide a safe place for interrogating the individual.
I quickly rose up. I didn’t have my coat with all of my weapons with me, given my casual shirt with leaves, but I still had to find out what was going on here in order to progress. I wasn’t going to do anything crazy, though. This was just a small little...side case.
By the time I had arrived on top of the grassy hill, Ice was already there. He had frozen the changeling’s body part way to render it immobile so that it couldn’t even think about escaping.
“That was a difficult battle,” he remarked as I arrived on the scene, “But it’s over for now. Are you alright?”
I looked myself over. No bites, or any major damage to my body. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“In that case, I’ll leave the rest to you,” he turned and started to walk off, “You’re an officer who can officially oversee the situation. I’m nothing more than a civilian that seeks to make life better from the shadows. You do your work in the light--so we’ll more than likely meet again soon.”
Wait what? He was already going to leave? Just like that? I suppose I had no room to stop him. But it was a shame that I didn’t get to know more about who he was. “Alright, thank you for your assistance, Mr--” I paused mid-sentence. The next time I blinked, he was already gone. Just who was he? And was he really married to...
But I had no time to focus on that. For the moment, all I had to do was question this individual as I waited for backup. “It’s over,” I said to the amalgamation of changelings, “You’ll be questioned and dealt with accordingly. May Luna have mercy on your soul, blah-blah-blah, you get the point.”
However, what came out of its mouth next was something I could not prepare for. “...I know what happened to your parents. If you let me go, I promise I’ll tell you everything.”
I felt a cold sweat run down the back of my neck. Was this for real? No. I refused to believe that some being that I had never met could know so much about me.
“I don’t think so,” I replied with a roll of my eyes, “Nothing you say can possibly intimidate me. It’s only a matter of time before you--”
“Your father despised you,” they cut me off, “he wanted nothing more than to get rid of you just as his wife had already left. He considered you a burden, a waste of time and effort. You meant absolutely nothing to him and your mother was just as bad. She left one day and never looked back. She didn’t even bother to take you with her because she knew she couldn’t take care of you. Your entire existence drove a happy couple to madness. How does that make you feel?”
How did it make me feel? Emotions that I never wanted to access. Feelings that I cast away long ago. But just as well, desires that often creeped up that tried to take me over. But what surprised me the most was the fact that this changeling had any inkling of an idea as to what I felt.
“Well then…” I tilted my head down, “I’d like to know just how you managed to comprehend such things. What makes you think they’re true?”
“Lady Elytra has granted us the power to peek into the minds of others and figure out what they hate most,” it explained. “Even though I am imprisoned in this frozen construct, I still have power of you and your hatred. You are an animal driven by bloodlust. A lust that you cannot reasonably deal with on your own, so you use your job to mask the fact that you wish to have sway in the lives of others. Which in turn, stems from your hatred towards your parents and your peers as a colt. Because you were never mentally stable to begin with.”
My body twitched. My hoof almost had a mind of its own as I ripped off one of the icicles that its prison was made of, and held it threateningly at one of their eyes. Its face was the only thing not covered by the frozen shell of sorts. “Where is Elytra and her hive?”
“...Hmph. You are not qualified to look into the darkness,” it replied with no sense of urgency or remorse.
I started at it for a long while, and cursed under my breath. I tossed the ice shard away, and turned around to gather my senses.
As soon as I did though, I was met with a magical beam.
ZZZZZZ!
“AAAAAGH! Geh...hfff…” It electrocuted me down to my soul. I felt my muscles lock up. The blast had essentially rendered me disabled, and unable to move or think straight. Through the paralysis, I could just barely lift my eyes to find…
Starlight had hunted me down.
“You’ve made your final mistake, Pale. I’m sorry about this...but you’re coming with me.”
Things only got worse from there. I was taken to the Mayor’s Office, and all I could do was wait outside of the main room in which Starlight was likely discussing something with others beyond the doors of the Mayor’s room.
But the feeling in my heart. It was a painful sense of nostalgia. It reminded me of my youth when I was a troubled dingbat of a colt that did as he pleased, and constantly had to wait outside of the office of the guidance counselor as the higher-ups determined my punishment. Shame and self-loathing could not begin to describe what I had felt in that moment.
Inside of the Mayor’s Office…
“This is the last straw, Twilight. You had him kill Svengallop and now he’s on a slippery slope of destruction,” Starlight chided me, “This isn’t a joke anymore. Now Neighsay is dead--somehow, and he helped capture the new changeling--something he was supposed to not get involved in--and he almost killed them too!” She pointed a hoof at me, “As your friend, I’m simply trying to help you understand the conflicting issues here. His mental stability is warped."
I sat right across the table from her. The Mayor was here as well to oversee our discussion. At this point, Pale Vestige had become a high-profile individual whose involvement in numerous cases had stunted his own growth. It was painful to watch. As far as Neighsay goes, however, there was still no evidence to suggest that he was involved. Unfortunately, logic does not care about how one feels. He still was the most likely to have a reason to end Neighsay’s life. As much as I wanted to believe he wasn’t capable of doing such a thing...the evidence was too painful.
And it all came back to me. I was the one who ordered him to essentially assassinate Svengallop before any sort of public execution could take place. But look at him now. He was...broken, emotionally damaged, driven too heavily by his past. Ultimately, I was most accountable, and as such, it was my responsibility to make sure that my citizens were all happy and healthy. From the biggest dragon to the smallest filly, it didn’t matter who they were. As long as their life was secure.
“I understand, Starlight. Really.” I put a hoof against my chest, “I’m the one who unintentionally brought this out of him, so I’m going to be the one to assist in carrying him through his underlying traumas.”
The Mayor opted for a middle ground on the situation. “If I may speak candidly, Twilight. You are not responsible for how he acts. Pale is a fully grown stallion--about in the same age range as the rest of us. How he chooses to perform in the field is his matter and his alone.”
Completely fair. I obviously could not control what another pony does or doesn’t do. Especially when it came to their occupation. Even so, the Princess of Equestria is the leader of all agencies and counter-crime organizations. To an extent, it was something I had to prioritize.
“Be that as it may,” I replied, “As Princess, I am commander-in-chief of all law enforcement and military operations. If something goes wrong within those operations, then I am obliged to step in.”
As dutiful as ever, Starlight folded her hooves and shot me a confused look. “I get that, I really do. But just what are you going to do? The fact that we allowed somepony like this to set Cozy Glow free is something else we need to consider. Yes, she seems to be adapting to, and living in the current world well enough. But if this keeps up, everypony is going to start questioning her integrity as well. Is that something you want?”
I shook my head with a stern exhale. “...no. Not at all. I’ve weighed the possible outcomes of the situation. He needs some serious rehabilitation before he returns to work.”
The Mayor looked at us both with a sly grin in her eye as if she had just hatched the greatest evil scheme known to ponykind. It was almost kind of scary to watch and it made me hesitate about whether or not I should ask.
“I think...I may have a way to help,” she said.
I really didn’t want to know, but I had no choice. “Oh? What is your idea, Ms. Mayor?”
She turned to her right, and shouted for her assistant. “Raven! Raven Inkwell! Can you come in here for a minute?” The Mayor turned and looked at us for a second, “She’s licensed in all forms of therapy and psychoanalysis. It’s her side hobby that she makes use of her earth pony magic with.”
Moments later, her secretary/assistant stumbled into the room. A white earth pony with a brunette mane and a pair of glasses over her brown eyes. She dropped the clipboard she held in her hooves, and picked it up as she adjusted those specs of hers. “Y-yes, Mayor?”
The Mayor recounted the entire situation to Raven. After a moment of deliberation, the mare’s face turned dark as she looked down at the ground. Her glasses weirdly hid her eyes in a dark shadow which I was pretty sure wasn’t scientifically possible given the room’s lighting.
“So that’s what’s going on, eh?” she asked, her tone much more somber and stoic compared to her awkward entrance. “...What are my orders, Mayor?”
“Do whatever you need,” the Mayor replied simply.
After a long silence, Starlight re-entered the conversation. “Um...excuse me, but what exactly is she going to do?”
Raven pushed up her glasses which caused a solid white sheen to reflect off of them. Creepy. And once again, not scientifically accurate. Which made it more creepy. “I can help Pale, however,” she looked up at me, “she must take part as well.”
My wings popped out as an automatic response to anxiety. Me? Really? Well, she had every right to call me out. After all, I was indeed responsible for it all, having been the one to give Pale the order which sent him down this path. But if there was a way to rescue him from it before it was too late, then I would do anything. We weren’t really close, but it was something that any ruler should do for their subjects. And friends.
I pulled my wings in, and nodded once. “Okay. I’ll take part in...er,” I looked down at the table. I had just realized that I had no clue what sort of thing Raven was planning. Was it some sort of reading exercise? Magic tuning? A long, deep discussion about our feelings? No. It was something that I had actually never heard of.
“Electroshock therapy. Tomorrow,” Raven stated, her neutral, apathetic expression unchanged, “We will find out the truth about your and Pale’s decisions through ponderous means if necessary.”
“Oh...that’s...perfect, ehe...heh…” I felt rivers of sweat pour down my mane as I gave the most forced smile I could ever manage.
Holy adamant appleseeds, I was not prepared for that.
Outside of the window…
“They have to go through shock therapy do they? That’ll make for a juicy, front-page story. The princess and the so-called detective need to undergo procedures for having problems that make them unfit for their positions. How scandalous. The world has the right to know, after all.”